The invention relates generally to hand tools and more specifically to a device which affixes to the handles of two wrenches and assists in the connection or disconnection of threaded members.
Those wrenches generally denominated pipe wrenches, having a pair of loosely adjustable jaws which include oppositely angled saw teeth on opposed faces, are the basic tool of the plumber and are a staple of most handymen's tool kits. The jaws may be adjusted to accept a given diameter of pipe and the saw teeth bit into and grip the generally smooth surface of the pipe in order to accomplish torque transfer to the pipe and rotate same.
Whereas a single pipe wrench is sufficient to remove a fitting or pipe from a fixed and rigid fitting or plumbing system, such a condition is infrequently experienced and in the majority of cases, pipe wrenches must be utilized in pairs: one wrench being utilized to restrain a pipe fitting from rotation while the second wrench is utilized to tighten or loosen a second fitting. Such an operation, though commonly encountered, is not without difficulty inasmuch as it generally necessitates applying force in opposite directions, i.e., pushing with one hand on one wrench handle while pulling with the other hand on the other wrench, thus effectively reducing by one-half the total force which one might exert on either of the wrenches individually. Furthermore, if the operator is careless, forces on the two wrenches may not be equal and the pipe or fitting which it was desired to maintain stationary may move due to this force inequality.
An explanation of the operation is also a statement of the problem: two separate and independent tools are being manipulated to perform what is in fact a single operation.
A review of the prior art directed to the solution of this paradox reveals that few people have so defined the problem and directed their efforts to its solution. U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,952 discloses a wrench winch of notable complexity which is intended to assist the utilization of two pipe wrenches in the above described manner.